Eureka Spitfire 1

Eureka Spitfire 1 - 03/08/1804:44 AM

My old REI Sololite finally bit the dust and I bought a Eureka Spitfire 1 tent to replace it, but haven't used it yet. A friend has one, and likes it, which was the basis for my decision, along with the price.

Have any of you used this tent? It seems like a lot of tent for the price ($135) and it's relatively light, at 3.5 lbs. including titanium stakes and a 2mil plastic groundsheet. My main concern is the possibility of rain blowing in through the roof vent, which closes with a short strip of Velcro. I'm wondering if I should lengthen that velcro closure, or if I'm worried over nothing.

Re: Eureka Spitfire 1 - 03/08/1812:55 PM

Since you are in Oregon and I am in California, you are probably used to a lot more rain than I am and are more sensitized to the issue. However, with that said, I wouldn't be too concerned. My tent has a similar style vent. The inner fabric goes up under the upper fabric and prevents leaks with normal rain. With wind blown rain, the Velcro creates an area of overlap that effectively seals it up. If you expect wind blown rain, you can orient your feet into the wind and keep the vent on the down-wind side.

I checked out the reviews on Amazon. They seem pretty positive. Neither of the two negative reviews focused on leakage at the vent port, so it doesn't seem to be a common user complaint.

Re: Eureka Spitfire 1 - 03/08/1803:35 PM

Re: Eureka Spitfire 1 - 03/08/1804:50 PM

I use a Hubba NX with a similar vent, and haven’t had any problems yet. I haven’t been too particular about the direction the tent faces - in fact, I may have had the vent facing directly into the wind once. Of course, the winds have been breezes, and I’m usually camped in the woods, which pretty effectively breaks whatever wind there is.